Coast Guard brings back 32 Indian boats, 516 fishermen stranded in Bangladesh due to bad weather

Fishermen and trawlers coming back to India from Bangladesh under supervision of ICG

Kolkata: Around 516 Indian fishermen and 32 fishing trawlers were brought back to India from Bangladesh on Wednesday. The fishermen were stuck in Bangladesh due to turbulent sea and bad weather for more than a fifteen days.

The return was coordinated by Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG). The fishermen reached Kakdwip fishing Harbour on Wednesday morning from Payra port in Bangladesh.

"BCG handed over 516 fishermen and the trawlers to the ICG at around 4:45 pm on Tuesday at International Maritime Border Zone," Bijan Maity, secretary of Kakdwip Fishermen Welfare Association told
Mumbai Mirror.

However, 23 fishermen, who disappeared in Bay of Bengal, are still missing. Only Rabindra Nath Das survived after being rescued by a Bangladeshi vessel. Das is recuperating in Canning hospital after returning to India last Saturday.

Altogether 25 fishermen were missing from July 6 while 31 were rescued by ICG. Most of the fishermen community hail from Mankhana in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.

The ICG used two ships Vijaya and Amogh to bring back the fishermen and the trawlers stranded in Bangladesh and handed those over to West Bengal government.